Battlestar Daedalus - Reloaded
by randomscifiguy1
Summary: This is the revisited history of the battlestars that survived the Colonial Holocaust and managed to allow the Colonies to live on. Join acting Commander Peter Selix and his Battlestar Daedalus on a mission to preserve the Colonial Civilisation and fight the good fight. Props to Just-A-Crazy-Man for the idea and helping me flesh out the story.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: The Attack…**

**This was written by request from Just-A-Crazy-Man, so thank him for this if you like it.**

**This is a reboot of the original Battlestar Daedalus, much in the same way that Battlestar Galactica was rebooted in 2003. There are discrepancies between BSD and BSD:R, but I hope you will like it as much as the original.**

**Without further ado, the story…**

**Col. Selc is now Col. Selix (No relation to the **_**Galactica**_** crew member)**

Time: T- 1 day, 11 minutes until the destruction of the Colonies

In a sea of black, there was no better sight for weary civilian cargo pilots than the massive grey hulk of the Nova-Class Super Battlestar _Daedalus_. Larger and newer than anything ever conceived by the Colonial Fleet, and being able to carry at least 400 Viper Mk. VII fighters, 100 Raptors and 20 Assault Shuttles, employed by the Marines for planetary assaults. It also had the distinction of being the only ship that can outfight the smaller _Mercury_-Class and _Valkyrie_-Class Battlestars.

In the CIC of the _Daedalus_, Colonel Peter Selix was doing a thorough run-down of all systems to ensure that they were up to standards. Nobody would know that this man in his early forties, who had short blonde hair that always looked like he had just gotten out of bed, was the XO of the _Daedalus_ and married… with three children. He approached Captain Kyle Geren, the Computer Systems Chief, who did as little work as possible and only did what was required of him, nothing more.

Geren was in his late twenties, had failed the Colonial Navy PFT twice, but somehow got clemency from the Fleet Commander, Admiral Nagala, who served with his father and got 'special favours' and was generally acting like he didn't want to be there. He wanted to be a pilot, not a bridge officer, but the Selection Board didn't like him very much, so they rejected his request.

"Geren!" Selix yelled, causing Geren to jump in his seat, "Have you installed the CNP yet!?"

Geren's eyes started shifting about the room, giving Selix his answer, "You didn't did you?"

Geren shook his head slowly, waiting for the wrath of the Gods to come down upon him.

"You think you can do the bare minimum and get away with it, don't you Geren?" Selix yelled, "Now get that program…"

All of a sudden, the ship's Commander, Rear Admiral James Yerome, a 60-year old who was born to parents who met during the Cylon War aboard _Galactica_. He wasn't built for the job, he joined the Colonial Fleet on the Bridge Officer track, not Command and he suffered accordingly when Fleet Command gave him the _Daedalus_. He also had a history of heart trouble, a congenital issue in the family, "All hands secure for jump!" He ordered, "Helm, stand by to jump to our designated patrol area!"

"Aye sir!" The helmsman replied, before Selix stared angrily at the portly Captain.

"Guess what Geren, you just missed your chance to redeem yourself. Forget the CNP download, we'll install it after we come back from patrol." Selix told him, "When we get back, you'll also see a lot more of the Chief Engineer."

"Looking forward to it sir." Geren replied sarcastically.

"Jump drives spun up sir." The helmsman reported.

"Very well," Yerome said, "Jump the ship."

The _Daedalus_ jumped, and she began her day-long trip to her patrol station, which would take five jumps over 4.8 hours…

**One Day Later…**

Time: Zero Hour

The _Daedalus_ was suddenly surprised by a fleet of Cylon Basestars which jumped out of nowhere. Surrounded, Admiral Yerome ordered every ready Viper launched to deal with the threat. In total, 320 Vipers were launched. Aboard one of the Vipers was the CAG, Lt. Col Harry Agu, a dark-skinned man from Aerilon, he was due for promotion to Colonel in six days, but with the flak he and his men were going up against, he wasn't so sure…

"_All Vipers, this is Eagle Actual_," He contacted all his Vipers over wireless, "_Our job is to try and clear a hole in the Cylon box and allow space for the _Daedalus _to manoeuvre. Once in range, fire your nukes at any Cylon warships and head back for the nest, Eagle Acutal _out."

The Vipers split up into groups, each made their way towards the Cylon Basestars, which launched waves of Raiders in reply. The _Daedalus_ fired her 88mm flak cannons towards the formations, hurling a shell with a time fuze hurtling towards the Cylon fighters. They exploded in the centre of the formations with devastating results, finally, the Vipers, although several were down from a combination of enemy and friendly fire, entered range and let loose all of their nukes. The result was eight giant flashes in the sky around the _Daedalus_, which receded quickly to reveal that the Cylon ships had been reduced to scrap and free-floating atoms. But the _Daedalus'_ troubles were far from over…

"Sir!" The DRADIS operator, Lt. Jane Kilo yelled, "Detecting more signatures. Cylon Basestars, eight of them, on an intercept heading! They're firing nukes!"

Lieutenant Jane Kilo, a 29 year old Viper Pilot… or she was until her Viper's engines failed during a training mission that caused her craft to collide with a Caprica City apartment building, which killed seven people. The accident was blamed on maintenance faults, but the Inquiry also found that Kilo could've avoided the building. Her flight status was revoked and she was posted on _Daedalus_ as a DRADIS operator, a job she did well.

Yerome was already trying to handle thirty things at once, as such, his heart rate started going up like a skyrocket, "Sir! They're right on top of us!"

But Yerome wasn't responding, he suddenly dropped, clutching his chest. Selix rushed to the Admiral, who he rolled over, "Sir! Are you alright!"

"Colonel Selix, it's my heart." He replied feebly, "I'm deferring command of the _Daedalus _to you, Colonel…" He then went limp. A marine started performing CPR while Selix rose slowly, unsure how to act.

"Captain Geren! Contact Doctor Harley, get a medical team up here!" He then turned to the helmsman, "Helm, set course for the red line!"

"Sir! What about the Cylon attack!?" Kilo asked, "And what about our Vipers!?"

"Their sacrifices will be remembered," Selix replied, "They knew the risks when they put on the uniform and get in those tin cans. Helm, jump when ready!"

The _Daedalus_ disappeared in a flash of light. Major Agu couldn't believe his eyes, they abandoned him and his men! He saw a Raider cross his nose and started pursuing it, firing his cannons all the time. Around him, he saw his comrades get cut down by Cylon Escort Ships, who were defending the Basestar from nuke and Viper attacks launched from Battlestars. Suddenly, a Cylon Escort Ship appeared and filled his vision. Instinctively, he gunned the throttle and closed his eyes, hoping for a quick end…

**Battlestar **_**Daedalus**_

There was silence in the CIC of the _Daedalus_. Colonel Selix, in an act that definitely saved the ship, also condemned 320 pilots and their mounts to their destruction at the hands of the Cylons. To top it off, Admiral Yerome was now in the infirmary, recovering from what Doctor Harley described as a stress-related heart attack arising from his pre-existing heart condition.

In an effort to boost morale, Selix decided that a speech was in order. At his insistence, it was transmitted live throughout the entire ship for all to hear and judge, "Men and women of the _Daedalus_. As you are aware, the Twelve Colonies have been attacked, and most certainly destroyed, by the Cylons. It is also a probability that we are the last remaining Battlestar, as we have received no messages from any of our comrades. It is also common knowledge that Admiral Yerome suffered a stress-related heart attack in the heat of battle and is now fighting for his life in the infirmary. But remember, our mission as soldier mandates one thing- that we will fight the bastards that caused this stain upon our honour, and we will make them pay the price we paid in blood and steel, with their own sparking scrap!"

This was met with thunderous applause from the crewmen on the lower decks, who wanted nothing but revenge for their loved ones and friends who were KIA or on the Colonies, however, the bridge crew remained stoic, knowing the consequences of Selix's first act as CO, "I also acknowledge that my first command is not off to a good start. My first order may have condemned many good pilots to their doom, but remember that we blew up eight Basestars, those brave men and women made the Cylons pay for their lives. Therefore, I suggest that we fight, but to do that, we need to gather our strength. There are several Colonial outposts in this region, by now, most of them are abandoned and occupied by the Cylons, destroyed or abandoned and ignored by the Toasters. Our first task is to collect as much munitions, spacecraft and supplies as possible. There will be no resupply, no relief, no shore leave, we will fight until we starve to death, run out of ammunition, are destroyed, or a combination of the three. I will personally fight to my dying breath, I ask you to join me and do the same. That is all, tend to your duties, tend to your shipmates, keep the Colonies alive with your own lives… this is _Commander _Selix, signing off."

He put down the microphone and he looked to the CIC crew, none of them said a word, until, of all people, Capt. Geren stood and started clapping. One by one, the crew began clapping until the CIC was a thundering hall of applause. Selix did it, he had the support of the crew, but would he keep it?

For Selix, only time will tell…

**So what do you think?**

**Tell me in a review or PM me and I'll endeavour to make it better.  
Also, enjoy your day…**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello Sci Fi Fans!  
Firstly, thanks for all your comments, I do read them and I do glean experience off them. Now, onto the story, today, Acting Commander Selix must contend with the crew's outcry against his prior actions, the death of his Commanding Officer and the election of new senior officers. Will Selix cope with the pressure? Find out on today's episode of Battlestar Daedalus!**

**Chapter Two  
**Command Decision

Colonel Selix was sweating as he waited for the latest casualty reports to come through, hoping that his worst fears didn't come to pass. Suddenly, his cabin door opened and Capt. Geren walked in, a clipboard under his left arm. He saluted Selix and handed him the clipboard, "Latest reports from all sections sir," He told him, "We've sustained losses from all departments, however, the biggest loss came from the CAW sir, there's some disquiet among the ratings about your decision sir."

"I see," He said, still going through the six page list of size eight font names, the names of those who are KIA. He stopped at the last name and dropped the clipboard, sending paper flying across the floor, "How long now?"

"He's been dead about two hours sir," Geren replied mournfully, "According to protocol; you're now the commanding officer." This caused Selix to take a seat behind his desk and put his head on it, "Are you alright sir?"

"James Yerome mentored me since I was a Cadet at the Colonial Fleet Academy," Selix told the man who was normally the 'XO's number one enemy', "Him dying is just like losing a family member. Now he's left me with a task that may be impossible, but I have to do." He turned to Geren, "I have to elect officers to new positions. Captain Geren, you're loud-mouthed, lax in your duties, consistently insubordinate and headed for a Commander's Mast, only being kept in the service thanks to your father's friendship with the now deceased Admiral Nagala. The only problem I have with you is that you remind me of the way I was when I was a Captain, so, I'm promoting you to Acting Executive Officer, effective immediately."

Geren stood there, frozen in time, with only his eyelids moving, "Um, thank you… sir." He replied, shocked at the Acting Commander's proposition.

"Now, I need a crew that can fight a war. We have Viper Construction Facilities and we have mining equipment, we need pilots for the new Vipers and we need good ones Captain, give me a list of people wishing to go for pilot training and I'll see to it that they start ASAP." Selix ordered him, "That is all, dismissed."

"Aye sir." Geren saluted him and left the cabin.

**The Next Day  
Port Hangar Deck**

A formation of roughly fifty Colonial Fleet personnel, comprised of both officers and senior NCO's (PO's, CPO's, WO's and CWO's) stood at ease in formation on the flight deck while the local deck gang looked on. A minute later, a Chief Warrant Officer marched onto the deck and stood at the head of the formation, "Squad, ATTEN-shun!" He yelled out, causing the formation to instantly come to attention, before he did an about face and saluted an officer who had appeared behind him while he was giving orders, she returned the salute and took his place at the head of the formation.

"Squad, STAND AT-ease!" She ordered, before she started walking down the front rank, "Okay, for all those noncoms and junior officers who don't know me, I'm Captain Jesse Warren, I'm the Acting CAG. As you all know, you're here because you've expressed your desire to become a pilot. Well let me tell you something, it ain't easy, ask el-tee Kilo, but we don't have the luxury of flunking here, so I will train you until you meet the standards!" She stopped at a Petty Officer Second Class, "What's your name, Petty Officer?"

"Gunner's Mate Second Class Blake T. Loren, ma'am."

"From now on, you're Midshipman Blake T. Loren." She told him, "For those who don't know, NCOs cannot be pilots, CWOs can, since they're commissioned, but NCOs haven't sworn the oath, so they can't be pilots. So as of now, all of you noncoms are now Midshipmen, which means you're an officer, but not quite commissioned."

She then turned and pointed at three Junior Grade Lieutenants who were standing at ease before two Viper Mk. VII's, "These three officers are your flight instructors, as with the words that come out of my mouth, you are to treat the words that come out of their mouths as if they have been quoted from the Sacred Scrolls, is that understood?"

"Aye, aye ma'am!" They shouted in unison.

"Good, the three flight instructors will split you up into three categories, those with no flight experience, those with minimal flight experience, e.g. civilian spaceplanes, and those who have extensive flight experience, e.g. you've flown a Viper, Raptor or Shuttle before. I wish you luck."

The CWO replaced her and he ordered the formation to fall out while the three flight instructors read out names, sorting them out into three classes, beginner, proficient, advanced. All this was done without any of them knowing that Commander Selix was watching them with Captain Geren by his side, "We don't have a prayer." Geren said, "Kilo could fly better than twenty of these guys, and she crashed a Viper during her final flight test."

"That was the error of the knuckle-draggers on maintenance duty," Selix replied, "She didn't deserve the punishment the Court Martial gave her. I'll endeavour to correct that, along with other issues, as we go along."

"Sir, are we going back to the Colonies to fight the Cylons?"

"No we're not Captain; we're retreating, beyond charted space. We need to find allies, just because we haven't met aliens doesn't mean they exist, and what of the Thirteenth Colony? They're out there somewhere, either unable or unwilling to make contact with us." He told his new XO, "Go to the CIC and give the Swain our orders, jump beyond the red line."

"Aye sir." Geren said, before departing from Selix's side.

"Enjoying the parade sir?" Major Warren asked him, moving up to him, "They ain't much to look at now sir, but when I'm done with them, those reservists will be trained better than some of the regs aboard."

"I left 320 Vipers and 320 pilots out there Major Warren and I have to replace those dedicated people with choc-wits," He shook his head, "I sometimes wish I got command of the _Pegasus_."

"You were going for _Pegasus_ Actual sir?" She enquired, intrigued at hearing this hidden chapter of the former XO's life.

"Yeah, about three years back I was on track for promotion to Commander, at the time I was XO of the _Bezerk_, an Escort Ship, nothing fancy. At that time, my CO urged me to start trying for command positions elsewhere in the fleet and, luckily for me, three spots popped up, _Pegasus_ had just come out of the fitting yards and needed a crew, the _Juno_'s CO had retired and they were in need of a new CO and the Gunstar _Polaris_. I tried for the _Pegasus_, when I found out a week later that Admiral Cain overrode my bid and used her rank to get herself a flagship, I tried for the _Polaris_. I was accepted, but then I found out why I never rose above Colonel."

"Why didn't you get the _Polaris _sir?"

"Apparently, Admiral Korman didn't like me very much, he tried to convince the Admiralty that I had been seeing his daughter in private, which wasn't true, we were supposed to get married next week, but when they found out that I 'was seeing the Admiral's daughter', they ripped up my transfer and decided that there could be no greater punishment than to be placed on a hyperadvanced warship crewed by reservists."

"And so ends the story of how everyone on this ship was sent here as if it were a prison colony. Well, one with massive guns and the ability to transfer anytime you want."

"Sir, you're not suggesting that we're the worst crew in the Colonial Fleet?"

"Oh no, but these reservists are shittier than first-year crewmen."

"Let's hope that we never encounter anything that will force us to push them." Major Warren looked back at the trainee pilots.

"We won't, not where we're going. But eventually we will need to find somewhere to settle down and live the remainder of our lives. We can't live on this ship forever." Selix replied, before turning on the intercom and speaking directly to the CIC, "Combat, this is the CO, execute jump beyond the red line now."

The _Daedalus_ jumped again, this time, she was leaving the Colonies for good. Many new challenges await the crew of the _Daedalus. _Can the battlestar crewed by reservists manage to forge a place in Colonial history, or will they fail and never be mentioned in the history books of the galaxy? Find out next time on _Battlestar Daedalus_.

**Sorry guys for being like, half a year late. But anyway, here's chapter two and chapter three will appear soon. As always, reviews are appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Greeting Sci-Fi fans!  
Firstly, I appreciate the support I get, please keep the messages flowing in. Secondly, today on Battlestar Daedalus, the battlestar faces its greatest challenge yet – being caught between two warring alien species, but appearances can be deceiving. Has **_**Daedalus **_**found that place they can call home?**

**Chapter Three  
**Crossfire

The _Daedalus_ jumped out of FTL flight in a blinding flash of light when all of a sudden, the Mercury-class battlestar shook violently. As the crew reoriented to the new environment, Commander Selix was rushing to find answers, "Navigation, did we hit something!?" He demanded.

"No sir," The navigator, a Petty Officer who had just come off his ten year stint with the regular Fleet and joined the reserves, "We got hit by kinetic rods."

_They've found us already, frakking toasters._ Selix thought in disbelief, "Cylons?" He asked the CIC crew.

"No sir, conventional ferrous tungsten rod," The DRADIS mass spectrometer operator replied, "DRADIS has thirty large contacts, first group of eleven ships at bearing 320 carom 310. Second group of nineteen ships at bearing 070 carom 040, they're concentrating on each other. Lots of fighter-fighter action in and around the ships."

"Battle stations, spin up main guns, attack anyone who fires on us!" Selix acted, albeit defensively, as anyone under pressure would. He knew that order would backfire on him some day, but not today, he hoped, "Launch alert Vipers!"

"What alert Vipers?" Inquired Captain Geren from the computer systems station.

"FRAK!" Selix grabbed a clipboard off the wall and threw it, scattering the paper everywhere, "WHY CAN'T YOU RESERVISTS DO ANYTHING RIGHT!?"

Geren, for once, took pre-emptive action and picked up the 1MC (the ship's intercom system) handset and pushed the talk button, "Spread the word throughout the ship, all Viper pilots report to fighters, all Viper pilots report to fighters!"

Captain Warren, sitting in the practically abandoned ready room, jumped into action, grabbing her helmet as she rushed down the congested corridors as crewmen and pilots alike rushed to man their battlestations. Black-clad marines rushed down the corridors towards the airlocks, preparing for the eventuality that may see the ship boarded while the green-clad crewmen scattered. She slid down the ladder and into the flight deck, where the permanently grumpy (a key feature of Master Chief Petty Officers) deck chief met her, "What's happening?" She asked as she rushed to her Viper.

"We're not sure, you've been scrambled," He replied in his low, grumbling voice, "We barely had the time to load and fuel your birds when the order came through." He added as she rushed up the ladder and jumped into the cockpit of her Viper Mk. VII space superiority fighter, this grey-painted beast of space combat was armed with two high-power kinetic energy autocannons and had provisions for any sort of missile or rocket on two ventral wing root pylons. Her three engines gave it impressive speed and the array of RCS thrusters scattered over the surface gave the ship exceptional manoeuvrability.

The aggressive nature of the Viper was a perfect fit for the naturally aggressive redhead CAG. She seemed to become one with the Viper, something many pilots can't do, she buckled up and put her helmet on, instantly a HMD (Helmet mounted display) showed up and allowed her to see everything she needed in combat without looking. Captain Warren closed the canopy and gave the chief a thumbs up, he saluted and the Viper started moving under the power of electromagnetic levitation devices under the deck into the launch tubes.

"Viper niner-three-zero, this is baseplate, catapult primed and the launch track is clear, give the thumbs up when ready." The catapult operator announced over the wireless. She looked at him and gave him the thumbs up. He saluted and pushed the little red button, propelling Warren out the airlock like a missile launching from its silo, poised to attack its target with deadly firepower and speed.

Outside, she could see two groups of alien ships, some were painted in shades of blue and green and were so elegantly designed she doubted their combat capacity, on the other side there was a fleet of mainly small ships, similar to firestars in size, with white overall hulls, small wings at the sides that seemed to be glowing red with heat and had prows and forward sections bristling with guns, she suspected the guys with the lots of guns were the good guys in this fight. She snapped out of tactical mode and switched back to the here and now, off her wings were three highly-trained, highly experienced pilots in their own Vipers, so she contacted them over the wireless, "Firebird to all Vipers, maintain formation and engage any and all contacts that attempt to engage."

She was met by static, then the voice of a human with a distinctly Caprican accent, "Unidentified callsign, this is ECS _Darwin_, identify yourself, over."

"Who is this?" She demanded.

"Unidentified callsign, this is ECS _Darwin_, identify yourself, over." The voice repeated.

"Who am I talking to?"

"Unidentified callsign, this is ECS _Darwin_, give your callsign and follow correct radio procedure, over."

_Radio_? Warren thought, _What's a radio_, "Um, my callsign is Firebird, off the battlestar _Daedalus_, over."

"Unknown callsign, this is ECS _Darwin_, your callsign is not recognised, neither is your home base, say serials one and two again, over."

_Serials one and two?_ Warren was getting annoyed with this prick, "Listen to me, I want your rank and name, because when I get back aboard, I'm going to cut you down to size you frakking asshole!"

"Unknown callsign, this is ECS _Darwin_, refrain from yelling over the radio, follow radio correct radio procedure. Say again previous serials one and two, over."

"I already told you numbnuts, my callsign is Firebird, I'm flying off the battlestar _Daedalus_, you know, the giant grey spaceship? Now tell me who you are so I can bust your ass when I get aboard!?"

The line burst to static and all of a sudden, she heard the voice of one of her pilots, LTJG Mickey "Roach" Yocki, burst through, "Firebird, Roach – who you talking to?"

"Roach, Firebird - unknown, the guy kept demanding my callsign and my station, he also kept going on about radio procedure, whatever that is."

"Searchlight to all Vipers, unknown spacecraft approaching your 20," The Raptor AEW (Airborne Early Warning) DRADIS operator announced, "Intercept and approach with extreme caution, _Daedalus_ actual advising weapons tight, out."

"Firebird to all Vipers, change vector and intercept." She ordered, just as she completed a complicated turn into the incoming spacecraft.

Meanwhile on that incoming spacecraft, the crew were about to see more aliens, or so they thought.

"Spacehawk 121, this is ECS _Darwin_, unknown contacts are now approaching you on CBDR course, suggest you approach with extreme caution, over." The Earth Coalition Navy Cruiser _Darwin_'s radio operator announced over the long-range radio system.

"_Darwin_, this is Spacehawk 121, roger, over." The Earth Coalition Navy UV-1M Spacehawk co-pilot, Sub-Lieutenant Dave Warburton, replied.

"Spacehawk 121, this is _Darwin_, roger, out." The line went dead and Warburton turned to the two side gunners, who manned a .50 calibre F32 Heavy Machine Gun in an airtight flexible mount next to the sliding pressure doors on either side of the spacecraft, the pinnacle of Sikorsky Aircraft's 'hawk' line of aerospace craft, "Load firearms and prepare for possible contact, keep weapons safe."

The crew chief, Petty Officer Naval Aviator Chris Donohue, nodded and patted his compatriot, Able Crewman Naval Aviator Alisha Davis. They moved to their stations and loaded their machine guns, but did not cock them. The Spacehawk's pilot, Lieutenant Eva Blinova, a Russian who grew up in Australia, her past career as a fighter pilot, flying De Havilland F/A-5 Vixen fighter-bombers, wasn't what she hoped it to be, so she transferred to the utility VTOL family. She knew that the fast-moving spacecraft that were coming at her were in fact fighters and she knew an UV-3 'Mike' Spacehawk had no chance against four of them. As they came closer, video cameras and sensors, operated by the sensor operator behind the pilot facing a wall panel with a holographic display screen and keyboard. They made note of every feature of the spacecraft, its shape, the weapons it could detect and other technical info. The cameras were there so pilots could identify them in future.

"Um, they're getting closer ma'am." SBLT Warburton stated.

"I know Sub-Lieutenant, but if these pilots are human, they won't take utility VTOL for a threat, so we won't be in danger… well, too much danger."

"I'm only picking up the two missiles and two machine guns in the 13mm range; you really think they're a threat ma'am?" The sensor operator, Able Crewman Naval Aviator (Electronic Warfare) Thomas Davison, asked.

"Da AB, I think they are a threat, because whether or not they have guns, they're still dangerous." She responded, before the first spacecraft flew past, buffeting the Spacehawk because of the proximity of the other spacecraft's exhaust cone to the hull of the utility VTOL, "See, exhaust cones cause buffeting."

"Ma'am, we've gathered all the electronic info on those fighters, but we need to get closer to do that… big spaceship." He stuttered, stunned at the size of the ship, he'd seen battleships, but they were only 90% the size of this, with the exception of the newer _Sanctuary-_Class.

"_Daedalus_, Firebird," Lt. Warren called in, "Unknown spacecraft appears to be a Raptor-type spacecraft, lightly armed. It appears to be gathering intelligence, please advise on further action, over."

"Firebird, this is _Daedalus_, leave it alone and trail it, only engage if engaged, over."

"_Daedalus_, Firebird copies, out"

Roach groaned over the radio, "What's the point of scrambling if…"

All of a sudden, an unknown starship, one of the ones Warren assumed was the bad guys, closed with the _Daedalus_ and fired three glowing purple blobs at the battlestar. The _Daedalus_ fired back as it tried to evade the unknown projectiles and failed. The blobs scored hits on the starboard engines and the battlestar began to flounder. Then, as if by divine providence, another ship appeared from a glowing hole in space, a large ship about 90% the size of the _Daedalus_ and following the same design as the small white ships. The ship started firing on the blue-green starship, and Warren gasped as she saw a green shimmering bubble appear around the ship every time the large ship's projectiles passed a certain point.

"Whoa, those guys have energy shields!" She reported over the wireless.

Out of the blue, three more white ships appeared in the same way as the larger one and started firing on the aquatic-looking spaceship. The green bubble slowly disappeared and the white ships' kinetic rods started impacting the hull directly. The ship started sprouting fire as burning gasses leaked out of the hull. Then a missile streaked from one of the smaller white ships and the sky went pure white for two seconds. When the white light died out, there was nothing left of the blue-green 'aqua ship', as Warren had dubbed it, other than glowing wreckage. The white ships then turned towards the main battle, that now seemed to be going in the way of the race who had the white ships.

"Um, _Daedalus_, this is Firebird, permission to aid the white ships in attacking the unknown enemy forces, over."

"Firebird, _Daedalus Actual_ – you're clear, we're moving into attack position with our tactical nukes now."

The _Daedalus_, still badly damaged by alien weapons fire, swung around and opened its missile silos. Thirty seconds later, six missiles rocketed into space and angled towards the blue-green attack ships. A second later, the _Daedalus_ fired her bow guns, the first salvo caused the shields of the larger aqua ship to ripple as if they had come under extreme stress. The second tore through the hull and caused the ship to fall out of formation, smashing into two others. Finally, the ship exploded in another brilliant flash of white light. When the light cleared, the alien ships suddenly flew away at great speed, entering the strange portals that the white ships appeared from.

The massive white ship stopped and turned towards _Daedalus_, and so did the rest of the white ships. The strange tuning noise that came over the wireless when she spoke to the annoying radio guy happened again, and a voice that sounded like a mix of Caprican and Aerilonian accents, appeared, "Unknown ship, this is the Coalition Battleship _Haven_, we thank you for your assistance in repelling the Petream attack, but we still need to ask you why you are in Coalition space, over."

In the CIC, Commander Selix frowned at the human, yet alien voice, "Coalition Ship, this is the Colonial Battlestar _Daedalus_, we have just escaped an attack by hostile forces and we made a random jump. We did not know this was your territory."

"_Daedalus_, this is _Haven_, what colony are you from?"

"We're from a federation of colonies called the Twelve Colonies."

On the bridge of the ECS _Haven_, Commodore Barry Buckley turned to his XO, "Does the record on Unregulated Space have anything about these 'Twelve Colonies?'" He asked.

The Executive Officer typed in a query in the database and the record appeared, "Sir, the Twelve Colonies is a spacefaring humanoid civilisation that is physically and mentally identical to humans. They're a polytheistic race and have been locked in a self-inflicted cold war with a machine race called the Cylons." The XO checked the location, "The Colonies are at exactly 240 degrees relative to Earth and they consist of a quad-star system and a straggler fifth star called 'Kobul' or something. Most of the planets and moons are habitable."

"So these hostile forces, they're the Cylons, correct?" Buckley enquired.

"Aye sir, I've pulled up a record on the Cylons as well. They're known to us quite well. They've been engaged in combat before after they attacked and destroyed the Solara Colony. The battle ended with a draw when both sides were forced to retreat when we deployed a Battleship and they deployed a supercruiser of some sort."

"So, what should we do?" He said, "Suggestions XO?"

"We need to ask ECN Headquarters," Replied the XO, "They'll know, hopefully."

Commodore Buckley nodded in concurrence, "RO, give me a line to Vancouver, and give me it ASAP Leader."

The Communications and Information Systems Leading Crewman nodded, "Aye, aye sir."

Commodore Buckley picked up the headset and turned on the microphone, "Colonial Battlestar, this is ECS _Haven_. Please wait here until we receive further instructions from our commanders about what to do with you. In the meantime, I cordially invite you and your senior staff to dine with us aboard the _Haven_."

**Well guys, I hope you liked this one. The next chapter will describe the Coalition in more detail, so until then, have a nice day.**


	4. The Galaxy in Focus - Earth Coalition

**Hi guys,  
Today's update is a bit of info on the Coalition and the Armed Forces, after this, the next update will be Chapter Four. Hope this clears up any questions you have about the Earth Coalition.**

**Galaxy in Focus One  
The Earth Coalition  
"Inuctus Nam Maiori Propositum" (United for a Greater Purpose)**

The Earth Coalition is the name of the of the government of the united human race following the Third World War (2065-2092) and the Deep Space War (2112-2120).

The Earth Coalition was originally a defence pact created between the nations of the British Commonwealth, who had been granted bilateral independence in 2045 and several nations throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe who were concerned with the rising power of Asian People's Federation (formerly the People's Republic of China), the United States of North America (formerly the USA, Mexico and everything above the Panama Canal) and the Russian Federation. However, by 2080, it was clear that the Coalition was more than a pact, it had become the de facto government of the majority of the human race. By 2092, the Coalition was a governmental organisation, absorbing the governments of the member nations.

The Coalition is a bicameral parliamentary constitutional republic, with a President as the head of state, the Prime Minister as head of government and the House of Representatives and Senate below this. The legislature of the Coalition is called 'Parliament' and is based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

**Government of the Coalition**

The government in the Coalition is heavily based on the Westminster System of Government. The legislature of the Coalition is known as Parliament, it is a bicameral system consisting of two houses, the upper house (Senate) and the lower house (House of Representatives), at the head of the government is the Prime Minister, analogous to the VicOR-President of a republic based on the US system and the head of state is the President. All officials are elected on a four year term and are elected by plebiscite.

The Coalition is classed as a 'Presidential Parliamentary Constitutional Republic', this means that the head of state is the President (whose power is heavily regulated by the Constitution), operates on the Westminster System of Government, has a constitution as the basis of its law and power system and is a republic (i.e. a nation without a monarch or similar individual in power).

The House of Representatives (called Members of Parliament or MP's) consists of one representative for each Coalition system, including Sol. New legislation must first be introduced here.

The Senate consists of two or three representatives (called Senators) from each Coalition system. The Senate's job is to regulate the House of Representatives by scrutinising all bills before passing/rejecting them.

The Prime Minister is the head of government and of the cabinet, the cabinet consists of a minister for each department of the federal government, such as defence, education and transport.

The President is the head of state and must sign all bills before they become law. The President has the power to veto five bills a term if he/she doesn't believe they are in the best interests of the Coalition, as per section 41 of the Coalition Constitution

**The Coalition Armed Forces**

**Rank Insignia and Structure**

The Armed Forces of Humanity use rank insignia based on those used by the British and Australian Forces.

Differences between the BAF/ADF systems are the removal of the crown as a rank insignia and the use of the Coalition 'Earth in a Wreath' crest in place of it, the replacement with the old national coat of arms with the Coalition one for Navy Warrant Officers and Marine Corps/Army/Aerospace Patrol Warrant Officer Class Ones. The bath star 'pip' has been replaced by the Brunswick Star and the sword and baton have been replaced with crossed swords. Navy rank insignia remain the same as the ADF versions, with the removal of the baton and sword and replacement with crossed swords.

**The Naval Service**

**Earth Coalition Navy**

The Earth Coalition Navy is the naval arm of the Coalition Armed Forces and one of the two branches of the Naval Service, which is seen as the senior service of the Coalition Armed Forces. The Navy's role, as defined by the Navy's mission statement, is to win the space battle and defend Coalition Space from any and all invading forces.

The Navy has several different commands, these are:

Starfleet (Warship operations)

Fleet Air Arm (Spaceplane operations)

Special Warfare (Commandos)

Coalition Navy Police (Naval Security Forces Coxswains)

Naval Logistical Command

Naval Medical Command

Naval Intelligence Directorate

Navy personnel are issued with the Action Working Dress, based on the Marine Corps and Army Operational Dress Uniform, pilots and aircrew are issued flight suits in addition to their AWD's and and commandos are issued ODU in addition to their AWD's, in addition to this, all personnel are issued with one Cold Weather Operation Dress Uniform and accompanying cold weather boots. Regular black felt boots are issued with AWD's, NWO's and flight suits, khaki felt boots are issued with ODU's.

All sailors, warrants and officers in the Coalition Navy are expected to qualify on the L5A2 Rail Pistol, the L6A1 .45 ACP Automatic Pistol or both, however, some categories can receive extra training in other small arms, such as:

F4 Carbine (Boatswain's Mate, Coxswain, Commando)

MP22 Submachine Gun (Boatswain's Mate, Coxswain, Commando)

F39 Compact Light Machine Gun (Boatswain's Mate, Commando, Gunner's Mate)

F32 Heavy Machine Gun (Spaceplane Machinegunners)

**Navy Categories (Called Ratings in USN system)**

Categories are specialization fields that crewmen must consider after their first year in the Navy. Categories are not shown on AWD's, but are shown on the right upper sleeve of the Navy Ceremonial Uniform (only for OR-1 to OR-8).

Not all sailors are categorized, and so they do not wear a category badge or have a category abbreviation at the end of their rank (e.g. CM rather than CMCDO [Commando Rating]), but rated sailors do and so earn the right to wear the category badge of the category of their choosing and will have the category abbreviation added to their rank (e.g. an AB who has earned the Aviator category will now appear as ABAV Smith.)

**Earth Coalition Marine Corps**

The Earth Coalition Marine Corps is one of the two branches of the Naval Service of the Coalition Armed Forces. The Marine Corps' role is to provide defence and offense capability for naval forces on the ground and aboard ship.

The ECMC has several different commands, these are:

Corps of Infantry

Armoured Corps (includes Mechanised Infantry units)

Special Operations Command (Commandos, MSAS)

Marine Aviation (attached to Fleet Air Arm)

Marine Corps Police

Marine Signal Corps

Marine Ordinance Corps

Marine Logistics Command

Marine Corps Medical Command

Marines are issued with the Australian MultiCam Pattern Operational Dress Uniform, in addition Marines are issued with one Cold Weather ODU for wear in arctic conditions. Boots for each uniform are issued alongside the uniforms.

All marines are expected to qualify on the L5A2 Rail Pistol, the L6A1 .45 ACP Automatic Pistol or both, and the F3 Assault Rifle, however, some marines can receive extra training in other small arms, such as:

F4 Carbine (optional after qualifying on F3 Assault Rifle, mandatory for Armoured Vehicle Crewmen)

MP22 Submachine Gun (Commandos, MSAS operators)

F25 SAW (Brick Light Machine Gunners)

F32 Heavy Machine Gun (Section Machine Gunners, Armoured Vehicle Crewmen, Spaceplane Machinegunners)

L9 Unguided Anti-Tank Missile Launcher (Brick Anti-Tank Specialists)

L10 Anti-Tank/Anti-Air Guided Missile Launcher (Anti-Materiel Specialists)

**Marine Selection and Training Program**

The Earth Coalition Marine Corps inherited its selection and training program from the Royal Marines, which was renowned to be the most challenging and thorough selection and training regime on Earth.

Firstly, recruits are put through a rigorous pre-Recruit fitness test, those that pass go to the 32 week Marine Recruit course, where recruits undergo a daily routine of inspections, drill, classes, weapons training and familiarization, parades and mess time. Those that make it through the 32 week recruit course undergo the graduation ceremony where each recruit has the 'Earth Coalition' epaulette badge pinned onto their epaulettes, officially making them Privates.

Officers train for 64 weeks, after the pre-Recruit fitness test, officer candidates are shipped off to the local officer training establishment, where they undergo a rigorous routine not too dissimilar to the routine that recruits go through. However, at week 12, they must sit the Admiralty Review Board, which judges a candidate's fitness to become an officer. If they pass, they will continue the course until they graduate, when their Officer Cadet epaulette rank slides are exchanged for the 'Earth Coalition' rank slides with the single pip of a Second Lieutenant.

Some officers enter through Officer Candidate School, a course open to people who have expressed a desire to join the Armed Forces whilst a member of the Coalition Armed Forces Cadets and reached a rank equal to OR-7 in their respective cadet unit. The course is shorter, at 12 weeks (3 months) and OCS Cadets are equal in rank to a Chief Warrant Officer rather than a trainee officer. Those who graduate enter as a Second Lieutenant, similar to those who pass through an Officer College. The difference between OCS and Officer Colleges is that it is tri-service, rather than serving a particular service or two services only.

**ECMC and ECA PFT Passing Grades**

30 Push Ups

50 Sit Ups

7.5 on the Shuttle Run (Beep Test)

For Special Operations it is:

50 Push Ups

50 Sit Ups

10 Chin Ups

10.1 on the Shuttle Run

**Earth Coalition Army**

The Earth Coalition Army is the third branch of the Coalition Armed Forces and only one of two that aren't part of the Naval Service. The Army's role is to provide ground forces for the defence of human colonies and interests of the Earth Coalition.

The ECA has several different commands, these are:

Army Corps of Infantry

Armoured Corps (includes Mechanised Infantry units)

Special Operations Command (Commandos, SASR)

Army Corps of Military Police

Army Signal Corps

Army Ordinance Corps

Army Logistics Command

Army Medical Command

Soldiers are issued with the Australian MultiCam Pattern Operational Dress Uniform, in addition soldiers are issued with one Cold Weather ODU for wear in arctic conditions. Boots for each uniform are issued alongside the uniforms.

All soldiers are expected to qualify on the L5A2 Rail Pistol, the L6A1 .45 ACP Automatic Pistol or both, and the F3 Assault Rifle, however, some soldiers can receive extra training in other small arms, such as:

F4 Carbine (optional after qualifying on F3 Assault Rifle, mandatory for Armoured Vehicle Crewmen)

EF88SA4 Austeyr (Royal Australian Regiment, New Zealand Regiment)

MP22 Submachine Gun (Commandos, SASR operators)

F25 SAW (Brick Light Machine Gunners)

F32 Heavy Machine Gun (Section Machine Gunners, Armoured Vehicle Crewmen)

L9 Unguided Anti-Tank Missile Launcher (Brick Anti-Tank Specialists)

L10 Anti-Tank/Anti-Air Guided Missile Launcher (Anti-Materiel Specialists)

**Coalition Aerospace Patrol**

The Coalition Aerospace Patrol is the youngest of the three services (the Marines count as part of the Naval Service), being the second service in the Coalition Armed Forces Homeworld Defence Forces. The Aerospace Patrol is a peculiar force due to its dual role as an Air Force and a Coast Guard, to accomplish these dual roles, the CASP is equipped with a multitude of spaceplanes and starships.

The Aerospace Patrol has several different branches, these are:

Atmospheric Warfare Command (Fighters, Bombers, CAS, Transports)

Space Warfare Command (Fighters, Bombers, Transports, Spaceships)

Aerospace Patrol Security Forces (Security Police, Airfield/Spaceport Defence Guards)

Airmen and airwomen are issued with the Australian MultiCam Pattern Operational Dress Uniform, in addition they are issued with one Cold Weather ODU for wear in arctic conditions. Boots for each uniform are issued alongside the uniforms.

All airmen and airwoman are expected to qualify on the L5A2 Rail Pistol, the L6A1 .45 ACP Automatic Pistol or both, and the F3 Assault Rifle, however, some marines can receive extra training in other small arms, such as:

F4 Carbine (optional after qualifying on F3 Assault Rifle)

MP22 Submachine Gun (Airfield/Spaceport Defence Guards)

F25 SAW (Airfield/Spaceport Defence Guard Light Machinegunners)

F32 Heavy Machine Gun (Airfield/Spaceport Defence Guard Section Machinegunners, Spaceplane Machinegunners)

L9 Unguided Anti-Tank Missile Launcher (Airfield/Spaceport Brick Anti-Tank Specialists)

L10 Anti-Tank/Anti-Air Guided Missile Launcher (Anti-Materiel Specialists)

**Okay folks, that's all about the Coalition for now. I'll post ranks later, but to get the idea, look up the Australian Defence Force rank charts or the British Armed Forces rank charts. The Coalition Rank System is a mix of both, as the Australian one has some the British one doesn't.**

**Okay that's it for today, as per usual, enjoy your day. If you have further queries, please PM me.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi fellow BSG fans!  
Last time on Battlestar Daedalus, the **_**Dadealus**_** had its first encounter with a new species of beings calling themselves the Coalition as well as a malevolent race of aliens. What the Colonials don't know is that the Coalition originated on Earth and controls a large portion of space.  
What kind of reaction will come from the Colonials when this is revealed? And what will the Coalition do about it? Find out on this chapter of Battlestar Daedalus!**

**Chapter Four  
Guess who's coming to Dinner**

The Colonial Viper, being flown by veteran _Daedalus_ Raptor pilot Dani "Slowpoke" Bray, flew into the cavernous hangar bay of the Coalition Battleship ECS _Haven_. Seeing a person wearing a yellow jacket start waving things at her, she slowly moved towards the large circle he was standing by. As she began to approach, she noticed a group of people in green uniforms bearing what appeared to be rifles. It was understandable, given that they'd never met each other before. The man with the sticks started waving in a motion indicating he wanted her to land, and she slowly put the Raptor on the landing pad. The two Colonial Marines that had accompanied Commander Selix and Captain Geren opened the hatch and were met by a female person with a posh "Baltar-ish" accent yell out, "They've got guns!"

The two Colonial Marines were instantly met by eight humans! They were men and women, dressed in multi-shade camouflage uniforms with matching helmets and body armour, a bearing an assault rifle that looked very similar to the bullpup AR-80 Assault Rifles the Colonial Marines had just laid down as a sign of their non-aggression. Both sides were surprised to see humans and Selix was now thinking he may have run into the 13th tribe of scripture that nobody believed existed.

"My name is Commander Selix, I was invited aboard by your Commodore Buckley." He announced to the other human soldiers.

One of them looked to another soldier and said, "Lance Corporal, go fetch Commodore Buckley."

The soldier simply replied with, "Corporal." And ran off.

He came back ten minutes later with two humans, one male and one female, wearing dark blue uniforms of the same cut as the soldiers. He had a black rank slide at the front of his uniform with a thick gold bar and a curl on top of it and on the bottom, two words caught Selix's attention, "_EARTH _COALITION".

"Sorry for my marines' response to your soldiers, but it's standard procedure when a previously unknown species is encountered." Buckley said, holding his hand out to Selix, "Commodore Barry Buckley, Earth Coalition Navy." Selix grabbed his hand and shook it. Once the pleasantries were over, Buckley pointed to the woman with the four stripes on her rank slide, the top one had the strange curl Selix noticed on Buckley's rank insignia, "This is my XO, Captain Leola Stamps."

Selix shook Captain Stamps' hand as well, the introduced his XO, "This is my XO, Captain Kyle Geren."

"Captain." Geren said politely as he shook her hand.

"Dinner is being prepared in the wardroom, if you would please follow me." Buckley said, before he and Stamps started walking off. Selix, Geren, Lt. Bray and the two Marines, who were allowed to carry their 5.7mm pistols, followed them, followed themselves by two Coalition Marines, who kept their F4 Assault Rifles ready to use. They walked past several spacecraft and Lt. Bray looked at them approvingly.

"Wouldn't mind a couple of those things, they look like they can kick some ass." Bray voiced her opinion.

"That's an F/A-5 Vixen," Replied a proud Captain Stamps, "She's armed with two 30mm Gatling guns and can carry up to 10 000 kg of stores on ten pylons."

"Sweet." She said in awe.

Selix was still curious about the fact that these humans belonged to an "Earth Coalition", so he asked Commodore Buckley, "Tell me Commodore, have you heard of the Thirteenth Tribe?"

"The what?" Buckley asked in genuine ignorance.

"It's mentioned in our scriptures in the Scroll of Pythia, it is said that there were Thirteen tribes that left Kobol to form the Twelve Colonies we come from, but the Thirteenth, for some reason that remains a mystery to this day, they disappeared to a world called Earth."

"That's highly unlikely." Replied Buckley, "Archaeological evidence has proven that we evolved from creatures native to Earth, but tell me Commander, exactly how do you know about Earth?"

"It's mentioned in scripture, that's it." Selix said, feeling disheartened that the scriptures were wrong, "It was a hypothesis that has sadly been quashed by this revelation."

"We have people on Earth who believe that we came to Earth and not evolved from apes as science tells us." Buckley replied, "There is a possibility, however. 200 years ago, two of the nations from our Earth… you could call them tribes, in the middle of a war, left Earth. We're still finding American and Asian colonies all over Coalition space and beyond." Buckley started, "It is possible that an American or Asian populace found its way to an area near your original homeworld and left when your people migrated."

"That's also unlikely." Replied Selix, "Because the exodus happened earlier than 200 years ago."

"Then that lends credence to the theory that the Squittles transplanted primitive men on other worlds to see how they'd evolve." Said Captain Stamps, now interested in this conversation, "In 2130, a scientist called Paige Bird published a paper with evidence she said proved that the Squittles, an ancient and extinct race of aliens who controlled the galaxy up to 20 000 years ago, transplanted primitive beings to another world somewhere in this, or another galaxy. The Squittles called this world 'Koa'bola', which meant 'New Home' in Squittle."

"Wait, did she just say Kobol?" Geren asked.

"Doctor Bird said that she had discovered evidence of this when she found an uninhabited world not far from the border of Coalition space, she alleged that this was the Squittle world of 'Koa'bola' and concluded that her theory was correct when she found many ruins that matched Squittle architecture found elsewhere in the galaxy and indeed in Coalition Space." Captain Stamps explained, "Therefore, your origins may have been on Earth, so the story this Pythia told you could have been told incorrectly."

"So that means we're the result of an alien transplant?" Asked Geren, "So everything religion has told us is wrong. This could mean that the Gods were aliens and…"

"Settle down, Georgio Tsukalos," Said Stamps, "Your Gods could have been created out of the fact that all primitive cultures need an explanation for certain events, the easiest way to explain this without science is that omnipotent beings did it. Hence a god for every element of nature."

"So the Gods aren't real?"

"Basically, yes. Everything about religion has basically been disproven by science."

Selix had been taking notes in his head for the entirely of this trip. As they stepped onto an elevator and started going up, he looked over his mental notes. He noted that these humans dismissed religion as the primitives' answer to why the sun went up and down, they were weary of foreigners and they had knowledge of the origin of Colonial civilisation. He pondered over the third one, _If they know so much about us, how can they not be the Thirteenth Tribe_? He thought.

The elevator stopped and they walked down a long hallway until they reached the top of it, where two Coalition Marines, wearing a khaki uniform with strange hats that Buckley called 'berets', were standing on either side of the door with a long rifle in their right hand pointing upwards. Their legs were apart and Selix assumed they were at ease. They came to attention and put their gun out in front of them and snapped their right foot behind the left one as Buckley walked into the wardroom, he returned the gesture with a salute as he strode past. When the party, minus the two marine escorts, had entered the room, the door shut and they took their seats.

Buckley picked up a glass of dark red liquid and he held it up, "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the Coalition." He then drank half of it, as did the other Coalition officers seated, after they replied "The President". The XO then held her glass out, "Ladies and gentlemen, our ships in space," she said before drinking the rest, and the other Coalition officers replied "Our ships in space" before drinking the rest of their glass.

All of a sudden, a door opened and eight people, wearing black uniforms that looked quite fancy with brimless white hats, walked through the door, bearing one or two plates each. The woman with the one plate put it in front of the Commodore and the others placed the food in front of everyone else.

The Commodore began eating, and all of a sudden, everyone else started eating. The Colonials, still coming to terms with the strange drinking ceremony that just occurred, slowly figured it out and started eating themselves.

Commodore Buckley swallowed a piece of food, and looked at Commander Selix, "Commander Selix, I'm curious as to how a person with a lower rank has an XO who outranks them."

"What?" Selix asked.

"You see, in our rank system, the rank structure goes: Midshipman, Ensign, Sub-Lieutenant, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain then Commodore and the Admiral ranks. So it seems strange to me that Captain Geren outranks you."

"He doesn't," Replied Selix, "Our rank structure goes: Ensign, Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Colonel, Commander then Rear Admiral and Admiral."

"That sounds like you've mixed Army and Navy ranks into one system."

"We have separate enlisted ranks for Navy and Marines, but we use the same officer ranks, except for the Admiral ranks."

"Interesting, our file on the Colonies had none of this information on it."

Selix dropped his fork and knife, "You had a file on us?"

Buckley looked at Selix, "Unregulated Space is monitored constantly, and we sometimes send expeditions out to civilisations or worlds that we find interesting. Your Colonies were an instance of civilisation we were keen to examine. We looked at you from long range and from up close."

"You had contact with us and didn't make yourselves known?" Geren asked.

"We had no idea about how your civilisation operated. We can't afford to get involved in another race's wars. We need to be cautious about these things. In 2140, we encountered a race called the Zingzangs, we had no idea that they were malevolent and when we tried to make friends with them, they invaded three colonies and massacred the populations." Buckley looked down for a second, then back up, "That's why we needed to know more about you before we made official contact."

"I see," Selix muttered, "But the fact that you were spying on us…"

"What makes us so different from the Cylons, eh?" Buckley asked, taken aback by Selix, who Buckley saw to be a submissive and unintimidating individual, a bad thing for a person in his position, "They sent human replicas into Colonial Space to sabotage and spy on you."

"How do you know this?" Selix demanded.

"When they attacked us, we searched for them." CAPT Stamps started, "We found out about their human replication project. So while they were running amok in your space, we found ways to detect and neutralise them and their resurrection technology. When you passed through that hangar door, you passed through an energy field that, if passed by a Cylon human-replica or any other type of Cylon, they would instantly die."

"You have technology to counter them!" Geren exclaimed, "You must have a greater understanding of the Cylons than we do!"

The door suddenly opened and a petite woman wearing a blue Action Working Dress (as the Coalition called it) uniform and a matching soft kepi-style cap, walked in and saluted the Commodore, "Sir, we've received a message from Vancouver." She informed him, before handing him a touch-screen tablet computer.

"Gentlemen," Buckley addressed the Colonial delegation, "Given the circumstances of your distress, the Coalition has granted you permission to remain in Coalition space. We're to escort you to a nearby colony where a Coalition Diplomatic Team will meet with you."

Selix and Geren looked at each other, before Selix looked at Buckley, "Tell them we'll take up the offer. Please lead the way Commodore."

Buckley got up and held his hand out, which Selix and Geren both shook, "May I be the first to welcome you to Coalition space. May this be the start of a friendly and productive relationship between our two peoples."

"Indeed," Selix replied, "I have a request for your government."

"Please, go ahead." replied the Commodore.

"We would like to acquire some of those fighters for our own inventory, our supplies of fighters were severely depleted by a recent attack on us by the Cylons."

Buckley and Stamps looked at each other, she mouthed something to him, and he nodded, "We can't sell you the ships without government permission, but we can arrange an aircrew exchange, say, one of your squadrons come aboard our ship and one of ours will go aboard yours."

Geren nodded approvingly, "Take it sir."

Selix shook Buckley's hand again, "It's a deal Commodore."

**Did you like what you saw?  
Either way, please post your opinions. I read them all and I improve my story based on them.  
Until next chapter, adios amigos!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Greetings readers!  
Today's episode of Battlestar Daedalus deals with how the crew is fairing with Commander Selix's assumption of command from the deceased Admiral Yerome. The Coalition will make an appearance too, they will play an important role with the upcoming story arc.**

**Chapter Six  
**Dissent

A marine strolls through the corridors of the _Daedalus_. His rifle is on safe and his fingers are outside the trigger group. He is whistling merrily as he walks past the briefing room of one of the squadrons that were completely wiped out during the Zero Hour attacks. What he didn't suspect was that the room was in use for a purpose he would never know…

Inside the ready room of Fighter Squadron 118, men and women, all wearing Colonial Uniforms with various ranks from Captain all the way to Crewman Apprentices and Privates, armed themselves with AR-80's, AR-81 Storms and various pistols and 5.7mm pistols. Some of them wore marine body armour while others wore parts of it and some wore none at all. They all formed up as a door opened and a man, wearing the blue uniform of a Colonial officer with the rank badge of a Captain on them, "Captain Torres, sir!" One of the marines said, saluting the officer.

"Soon it will be Commander Torres, and we won't be hiding in the shadows much longer." Replied Captain Gulbrand Torres, a seedy individual who was a) upset with Commander Selix's handling of the Zero Hour situation and b) desperate to take command of the ship. He got behind the lectern at the front of the briefing room, "Comrades! The time is now upon us to relieve ourselves of the burden that Commander Selix has placed on us. His inaction during the Cylon attack has left our Air Wing depleted and our stock of trained pilots depleted. He has a track record of being unable to command and consistently making mistakes in the heat of battle." Torres ripped out a 5.7mm pistol, "It's time to fight back against this stupidity and install commanders who know what they're doing, for the greater good of the ship, and the Colonial civilisation!"

The marine asked him, "What are your orders sir?"

"Take the engine room and auxiliary control station, then we will spread throughout the ship like a plague they cannot fight." He said, "GO!"

They roared in agreement as they charged out of the room. Upon hearing the yelling and stomping of feet that could only be a human stampede, the marine turned around and turned the safety of his Storm rifle off, bringing it up to his shoulder, "Who goes there!?" He yelled. The last thing he ever heard was the sound of an AR-80 going off, for he was hit in the head by a bullet a second later and was dead before he hit the ground, his rifle clattering uselessly to the floor.

In the CIC, the report that a weapon discharge was detected raised alarm bells throughout the ship. Marines who had just turned into their racks were being dragged back out of bed to find the shooter. The CIC doors sealed and a steel blast door slammed shut behind the glass rotating doors. Marines were posted on each side of the auxiliary doors and the entire ship was in lockdown.

"What is happening!?" Commander Selix demanded.

"A weapon was discharged on deck 18, marines are moving to investigate." The CIC duty officer said.

"What!?"

Captain Geren pulled him aside, "Sir, this may be a mutiny in progress." He said in a hushed tone.

"A mutiny?" asked the Commander incredulously.

"Yes sir," Geren replied, "There's a few lower-deck rumours that there are men and women amongst this crew who disapprove of your command and wish to replace you with someone they believe to be more competent."

"Who could that be?"

"Gulbrand Torres, sir," said Geren with a sigh, "He's in his late 30's, he's a lifetime reservist and he's using the unpopularity of your decision to abandon our Vipers at the Cylon Attack to gain support for a mutiny."

"That frakking worm." Selix said, squeezing his fists.

Meanwhile, Torres' mutineers had just engaged their first marine Fireteam, and they ploughed them aside like a truck hitting two oncoming cars. They stormed into the engine room and shot anyone that tried to fight. Thankfully, nobody wanted to fight the guys who just killed four or five marines and were currently swarming them. Finally, Torres walked into the auxiliary control room. The marine guarding it turned around and whipped his SM-90 Submachine Gun up, but not fast enough. Torres put a single 5.7mm round in his forehead. He strolled over to the intercom and turned it on, "Attention Commander Selix, my name is Captain Gulbrand Torres. I have over a hundred crewmen and marines who are disgruntled with your lack of command skills and demand you step down as Commanding Officer immediately. We don't want to kill any more people than we have already, so we are respectfully asking you to step down as Commanding Officer or we will forcefully remove you from command."

The marines in the corridor looked around, "What in Hades is this guy talking about?" A Crew Sergeant asked, "This guy has been smoking some serious shit."

In the CIC, Commander Selix was about to smash through bulkheads and tear this traitor's head off. He picked up the intercom phone and replied, "Captain Torres, you and your men are traitors to the Colonies and a disgrace to the Colonial Fleet and Marine Corps. If you do not stand down I will vent the entire section into space and shoot your bodies out an airlock for the Vipers to use as target practice!" He hollered into it, before slamming the phone down and whipping out his 5.7mm pistol.

"Geren! Grab your sidearm, we're going mutineer hunting!" He said, before knocking a marine out the way as he stormed out of the CIC.

The mutineers charged through the corridors, shooting anyone that made a move against them; the result was dead marines and crewmen all over the floor, dying the deck plates a sickly blood red. They were like berserkers, nothing could hurt them, and if one died, another took his place. It was not long before they ran into the CIC guards, the most elite marines aboard the ship. The marines fired and a hail of gunfire replied. Risking the heavy damage that would ensue, a Marine Crew Sergeant rolled a grenade down the hallway. It exploded five seconds later and there were screams from the mutineers. All of a sudden, the Crew Sergeant took several rounds to the chest and head and fell over in a pool of blood. The guard Corporal turned and saw Captain Torres standing over him with a 5.7mm pistol pointed at his head. The Corporal pulled out a knife and he was shot in the head. He fell over next to his Sergeant. The other marines stopped firing and surrendered. Torres looked at them, "You have a choice, join us or become prisoners."

One chose jail and the other chose to join the mutineers. They continued their charge as they closed in on the CIC. In one of the corridors leading to the CIC, Commander Selix was waiting behind a team of marines, waiting for Torres and his bunch to show up. He picked up a nearby telephone and turned the intercom mode on, "Attention mutineers! You are now pissing me off! If you don't surrender now, you will be met by advancing marine teams who will not hesitate to throw grenades or use machine guns against you. So if you have any sense, abandon your insane leader and surrender to marine forces and you will receive a lighter sentence. Be warned that if you resist and are captured, you will be charged to the full extent of the law. Make your choice."

"Too late Commander." A voice replied, and Selix turned around to find Captain Torres with an AR-80 pointed at his head. He reversed it and knocked the Commander out. The XO and the marines dropped their weapons and surrendered. Torres led them to the brig and locked them up with their marine comrade, the one that surrendered and chose jail.

After several muffled gunshots outside, the CIC doors opened and mutineers swarmed in. instantly, the CIC crew, who didn't have any arms and didn't have the stomach for combat, instantly surrendered. The mutineers tied them up and put them in the brig while qualified mutineers took up their stations. Torres walked over to the tactical plot in the centre of the CIC and picked up the intercom phone, "Attention all crew, this is Commander Gulbrand Torres, effective immediately, I am the Commanding Officer of the _Daedalus_. All loyal crew are to arrest and throw in the brig any disloyal crewmen, all sections make reports to the CIC by 2000 hours. That is all." He put the phone down and the mutineers cheered.

Aboard the Coalition Battleship _Haven_, there was no jubilation. Commodore Buckley saw this takeover as an obvious mutiny and prepared action accordingly. He had Captain Jesse Warren report to the bridge. She walked onto the bridge and the marines guarding the door came to attention and presented arms. As she walked past the returned to the at ease position as she approached Commodore Buckley.

"Commodore, you wanted to see me sir?" She said.

"Yes Captain, there's something wrong aboard the _Daedalus_." He told her, "A man calling himself Gull-brain Torres or something like that has hijacked the _Daedalus_. From early reports, we have reason to believe that there has been a mutiny. The majority of the crew have either been put in the brig or killed; however, the number of people in the brig outnumbers the dead. I need to rescue Commander Selix and return him to command. Any suggestions Captain?"

She pondered this, "Contact them and arrange to meet Torres. He's an obnoxious worm who has an overinflated ego that is directly opposite to the size of his brain. While you meet with him, we'll sneak aboard with some of your marines and release the crew. Once we release the crew, we head to the armoury and we arm them. We then attack the mutineers and recapture the ship. Torres has no command experience aside from a few freighters and tugs and he's definitely not going to be able to cope with someone taking the fight to him."

"Okay then Captain. I'll requisition a section of my Marines to accompany you and your team. We'll remain in covert radio contact at all times. I'll get my khaki's on and we'll head for the ship shortly." He then turned to the Comms sailor, "Leader, transmit a message to 'Commander Torres', tell him that we are coming aboard to congratulate him on his promotion."

"Aye, aye sir." She replied.

The hangar bay of the _Daedalus_ was filled with formations of mutineers as the Coalition CV-1 Eagle Dropship settled onto the deck in front of Torres and his senior mutineers. The hatch opened and Commodore Buckley and Captain Stamps, both wearing their Service Khaki uniform with green garrison caps, stepped off the dropship with two marines wearing their Service Khaki uniform with F3 Assault Rifles in their right hand, being ceremonially carried.

Commodore Buckley walked up to Torres, "Permission to come aboard Commander?"

"Please," Torres replied, "Come with me. We have been expecting you."

Torres started walking, and the Coalition delegation followed. Lastly, the formations of mutineers left the hangar bay, leaving it quiet as a mouse. That was when Captain Warren and her bilateral strike team boarded. They snuck through several hallways and up several levels up to the brig, which was being guarded by three mutineers. The Coalition Marine Special Air Service operators, armed with suppressed F4 Assault Carbines, fired them and silently took the two guarding the door down. Next, they stormed the brig and took down the mutineer guarding the brig as well. Warren then sealed the deal by opening the doors and freeing the crew. Commander Selix came out and walked up to Captain Warren, "Captain, there's a promotion in this for you."

"Yes sir, but shouldn't we retake the ship first?" She handed him the mutineer's AR-81 Storm rifle.

He cocked it, "Yes we should."

A Coalition Marine picked up the covert radio transmitter he carried, "Star, this is Worm, we have reached Point Alpha, over."

There was conversation, then he said, "Star, this is Worm, roger, out."

"The boss says to move on." He told Captain Warren.

While the Colonial Marines led the crew to the armoury, the MSAS team, Selix, Geren and Warren moved towards the CIC. The SAS team leader, a Corporal named Bernadine Ivers, handed Selix and Geren suppressed pistols, "Use them over your rifles, they'll trigger the ship's gunfire alert system if you do use them."

Selix nodded and the team continued through the corridors, finding evidence of how brutal the mutineers really were. He finally arrived at the CIC Defence Zone. He stepped in and nothing happened, so they continued all the way to the CIC door, which was guarded by two mutineer marines. The Coalition MSAS team silently took them down and stormed into the CIC, "Everybody put your hands up!" They yelled in unison, pointing their guns at those who were armed. The mutineer marines pulled their SMGs up and were mowed down by the 6.8mm SPC rounds the Coalition weapons fired. The rest of the crew put their hands up and were arrested. Selix grabbed a mutineer, "Where's Torres?" He demanded.

"He's meeting the Coalition Commodore." The mutineer replied weakly, before Selix knocked him out. He turned to Corporal Ivers, "Why is Commodore Buckley meeting with Captain Torres?"

"It's a ruse." Warren said in her stead, "I thought of it, while Torres was distracted, we would retake the ship."

"Good idea." He replied, "Now let's take Torres hostage."

"Star, this is Worm, you are cleared hot, over."

All of a sudden, the Coalition Marines who were escorting Commodore Buckley pulled their rifles up and Buckley and Stamps drew theirs. Torres, who was in a room with two mutineer marines, gave the signal to fire. As the marines pulled the trigger, the Coalition Marines fired first. Two heads turned into hazy messes on the wall and their bodies slide onto the floor. Torres was now on the receiving end of a pistol pointed at his head, "Game over Torres." Buckley said, "We all know this was a mutiny."

"You'll never escape my people."

"I don't need to, your people should be in the brig by now."

"Wha-what!?"

"Yes, we snuck commandos aboard, so your mutiny is now officially bust."

All of a sudden, the door opened and Selix marched in with his 5.7mm pistol. He stormed up to Torres and slammed him against a wall straight out of his chair. He then pointed the pistol at his head, "You made two mistakes today Torres. One: you double-crossed me and two: you double-crossed our allies. I will ensure that you never try anything like that again. As of now, you are being demoted to Crewman Apprentice, after ten years in solitary confinement for attempted mutiny, you will be assigned to garbage detail."

"Okay sir, I give up."

"Good." He said, before king hitting him in the jaw. He slid to the deck in a sea of blood. Commodore Buckley looked both impressed and mortified.

"I underestimated you Selix." He replied, "You rose to the challenge and took charge in a situation that I thought you'd never handle. But you didn't have to king hit Torres."

"The point needed to be made." He replied darkly.

"Well then, for what it's worth, I appreciate you more than I did yesterday." He said, before walking out of the room with his marine escort.

"What did he mean by that?" Warren asked the Commander.

"I don't know." He said, looking at the empty doorway, "I really don't know."

**So, what did you think?  
Criticisms, comments, queries? Leave them in the comments section or PM me.  
I'll endeavour to upload the next one in the coming week. Until then, adios.**


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